Our Little Secret
by M0l
Summary: Since the wedding Santana and Quinn haven't had a chance to talk but will a surprise visit organised by Rachel change everything? Set after "I Do"
1. Chapter 1

I could never really decide whether living with Lady Hummel and Baby Streisand was a good idea. I mean, when they weren't forcing my participation in one of their supremely gay musical marathons and breaking into musical numbers over breakfast, it was surprisingly fun. Kurt could be nearly as vicious as me and honestly a little competition's entertaining. But, recently I had started to care about them just enough to smile and hold moderately civil conversations and this drove me crazy because Rachel's man toy Brody was a total creeper and these things called emotions were stopping me from beating the crap out of him. I'm not denying he had a rocking body and he could slam down those Magic Mike moves with his eyes closed but seriously, he must get Berry to wax him at least twice a day to maintain his shiny plastic exterior. What an ass.

"Santana, Brody is a good guy!" Rachel moaned at me. "You don't even know him."

"Oh please. All that that Ken doll can give you is his plastic comb and miniature Malibu beach house." I rolled my eyes and ate my dinner.

Kurt looked up at me from across the table and giggled. Wow, I get him even with my bad ones.

Let's be real here, we all know that Rachel and Frankenteen will get back together. I mean, it's totally obvious that they hooked up at Mr Schue's wedding that never happened. We could practically hear them through the wall. It sounded like she was trying to roll that beached whale back into the sea so that, hopefully, he could carry her far, far away where I wouldn't have to see either of them getting it on ever again. She wasn't kidding anyone.

It had been a while since I'd thought about the wedding and even longer since I'd thought about sorting out what happened there. Honestly, it was one of the best nights I'd had in ages. Quinn was on form and was hilarious and obviously the lady loving and alcohol swayed me. It sucked to see Brit all over Sam but hey, I had nothing to complain about. Apart from the fact I hadn't spoken to Quinn since we left that night, it was pretty awesome.

"Santana, please just stop trying to make him uncomfortable. He's my boyfriend, deal with it."

I sighed. "Fine. But if he pulls anything dodgy I will take him down."

We finished our dinner in a comfortable silence and relaxed at the table. Rachel and I had been bickering all day about Brody, the rent, my future blah, blah, blah but honestly there wasn't any tension. I'm a straight up bitch and she's moany and annoying, we all know that and we accept it.

"Ok, I know what'll cheer everyone up." Kurt stood up and clapped his hands together excitedly as we looked at him with blank expressions. He carried the dishes over to the sink and went into the cupboard above it. When he turned around he was holding two bottles of wine.

"Hell to the yes." I grinned as I got up. "Can I choose the movie tonight? I wants to gets my comedy on."

"Fine." Smiled Rachel "I guess we can watch Moulin Rouge again tomorrow." She turned and winked at Kurt.

No thanks Rachel. I think I'll go out instead.

* * *

We sat leaning against each other on our tiny couch. Apparently being the in-house lesbian made me the most masculine choice so, unfortunately, I always got stuck with Barbs and Kurt falling asleep on either side of me. They refused to sit on the awesome chair I found outside the apartment, something about diseases and a homeless guy? I don't know, it was freaking awesome though, they totally don't appreciate me around here.

I felt Kurt move slightly as he laughed at the movie. It was coming up to 12 and I was starting to feel drowsy, partially because I was tired but also because I'd drank one and half bottles of the wine. Whoops. It's a shame that Lady Hummel is such a slow drinker. I was fighting off the urge to dose off because the best part was coming up.

The thing I really love about comedy movies is the romance. I may be pure fucking evil sometimes but I'm still a lady. I swear even the biggest morons in these things pull some rocking blonde by the end. And if the idiot in American Pie can get married and shit after all of that then there's hope for us all. Even Rachel. Plus, the chick in this film was smoking hot and totally reminded me of Quinn.

I really missed her. We were never as close as Brit and I but nevertheless we were two thirds of the unholy trinity, our prowess was undisputed. I was kinda worried about what would happen after the wedding and I guess I was right. It wasn't that uncomfortable until she went back to Yale. I suppose that she had time to think things through and maybe it was just easier for her to pretend it didn't happen. Either way, we hadn't spoken since then. She rang Rachel all the time and they talked for hours but the two of us just hadn't had any reason to talk things through yet.

I scrolled through the photos of that night on my phone and smiled. She was right; I looked awesome in that dress.

My eyelids started to feel heavy just as the credits came up. I gave up and finally drifted off to sleep. Just one more night when I go to sleep thinking of Quinn.

* * *

"Santana!"

I stirred and rubbed my eyes.

"Santana! Wake up!" Rachel screeched at me.

"Go away dwarf! I'm getting my beauty sleep. I suggest you do the same." I snuggled my face back into the couch.

She threw a pillow at my head. "Do you mind?"

"Come on Santana. I'm trying to clean up here." I sat up and looked around. Wow, I really had slept well. I was lying exactly as I was when the movie ended.

I stretched my arms upwards and rubbed my eyes. Why was I so damn tired all the time? I seemed to spend all day moping around the apartment, working and then coming back, sleeping and repeating the cycle. When did the life of Santana Lopez become so boring? I walked into the kitchen and started making coffee.

"Want one Rach?" I gestured towards my mug.

"No thank you. I'm in training and caffeine affects my sleeping pattern." I rolled my eyes. That was typical Rachel. "Guess who I spoke to this morning?"

"Would that be Brody the Greek god of moisturizing and hair removal treatments?" I grinned.

"Firstly, Brody has body hair, and before you say it, no he is not a distant relation of action man and neither is he the spokesman for a range of elderly women's skincare products, leave him alone Santana. You're a bitch…" I winked. "It was Quinn."

"Oh?" I questioned. Yet another missed opportunity for us to talk. I mean, I'm glad that Quinn and Rachel are friends and have sorted out there differences but, Hello, what about you're old friend Santana? Wouldn't hurt for your fine ass to give her a call every once in a while.

"And she's coming to stay with us!"

Hold up. Why would you do this to me right now?

"What? When?" I didn't know whether this was a good thing or not. I love Quinn so much, she's awesome but I don't want to have to experience the weirdness of the first after sex encounter. How about we wait like another 10 years or something until we're both old and unattractive? I laughed to myself. As if.

"Thursday!"

"You do know that's only two days away, right?" I sighed. Having anyone at all stay in this house made the small space even smaller and I had to work all night on Thursday. I guess that at least puts off the awkward greeting for a while. "I'm working too so I probably won't be here."

"Quinn thought it might be nice to visit you at the bar. It gives us a chance to get some drinks and catch up and then you're kind of there too. It'll be perfect."

Really, Quinn suggested that? Maybe I _was_ overreacting. I honestly hadn't stopped thinking about her since the wedding. I guess I was kind of scared it would be like our friendship was gone and all that was left was this unfixable mess. I never had that problem with Brit, we got it on _all_ the time and we were still best friends. The difference here was that we were both kind of drunk and you know, Quinn was straight, extremely straight, and Christian. Shit. Got to fix this.

"Rach, I can't really see a gay bar being your scene. It's not a nice place, trust me." I looked over to see her smiling back at me.

"Well I have no issues. I've been in there before remember? That time you hung around after work and I had to come and pick you up. You were sick in the cab and—"

"Ok, ok." I had to interrupt. I didn't need reminding of that night. It was the worst I'd ever been. "Fine, you can come, calm down. " I sighed and rubbed my palm against my forehead.

"What's up?" Rachel asked walking over to me, she rested her hand on my back and rubbed up and down slowly.

"Nothing, I'm good. Thanks" Rachel didn't have a clue about what had happened and I didn't plan on telling her. The fact that Quinn hadn't mentioned it either was a relief. I can't even imagine how Rachel would react if she found out I slept with her best friend.

"Really? Because you look kind of stressed. I'm sorry I didn't ask you if you were ok with her staying first. I thought you'd be fine with it."

"What?" Was she a fucking mind reader? Maybe Q _had_ told her. This was not cool. "No it's fine." I looked at the floor.

Rachel looked confused. "Well, ok. I mean Quinn said you hadn't really spoken but I thought you'd just drifted and I kind of thought you'd be excited." She looked into my eyes, questioning me.

"Yeah. Of course." I said quickly. "I can't wait to see her." I smiled awkwardly. I think Rach guessed I was putting it on. How did Quinn make me lose my cool? This was ridiculous. I hadn't even seen her and my palms were sweating. Screw this feeling. I'm never nervous.

"Ok well I'll pick her up from the airport, we'll come visit you at work and you can join us when you're done. Sound good? "She smiled up at me.

"Sounds like a plan Rach." I returned the gesture and turned around to carry on with the dishes. Damn I need to find a way to keep my head down for the next few days.


	2. Chapter 2

After Rachel and Kurt insisted on a musicals marathon I decided to take the opportunity to go to the bar just round the corner. I was hoping to get back just as the credits started so that I could act all disappointed that I missed it but the night was passing way too slowly. The bar was almost empty and the regulars that I normally sat and talked to weren't about. I finished my drink and checked my phone. I had three new messages. The first was from Kurt begging me to hurry up because Rachel was driving him crazy moaning about Finn and Brody. No surprise there. The second was a message from Brit asking if I knew where she could buy a panda hat. Don't even ask. But it was the third message that confused me. I don't understand why she'd sent it or what it meant, it just said;

_Hey Santana, Can't wait to see you. I've got some news. Q x_

Unbelievable. After all this time is that all I get? I stared down at my phone. Surely she could've waited until she got here tomorrow to mess with my head. I sighed loudly and rested my head in my hands.

"Hey, are you ok?" I heard from behind me as a hand rested on my shoulder. I turned to see a woman with bright blue eyes and long flowing blonde hair.

"Oh yeah I'm fine. Thanks. Sorry, do I know you?" I questioned her looking into her eyes. She looked familiar to me but I didn't know her. I just prayed that she wasn't one of Berry's annoying 'Broadway Wannabe' friends from NYADA.

"No, sorry. My name's Annie." She put out her hand for me to shake. I complied.

"Santana." I swiveled back round on my stool to face the bar and waved towards the barman pointing at my drink. "Hey Joe. Any chance of a complimentary refill over here for your favourite customer?" He waved his hand and carried on making a blue cocktail. "So, what's up Annie? Because I'm really not in the mood for a therapy session right now."

"Actually, I was just about to ask you if you wanted a drink but I can see that you're all sorted." She pointed at the cocktail that the barman placed in front of me. I nodded. "And I thought maybe you could do with some company, besides, you look amazing in that dress and my ex is right over there. Making someone a little bit jealous doesn't hurt."

"Oh right so you're hitting on me." I smirked at her as she sat on the stool next to me. "Normally I would be more than happy to oblige, you're hot and I'm hot, why not, right? But honestly I'm not in the mood right now." I fiddled with my phone as I spoke.

"I get it." She pointed at the phone. "Girl problems?"

"Kind of. More like a friend-messing-with-another-friends-head problems." I smiled sarcastically, pulling a face and she laughed.

"Well, we've all been there." She winked. "How about I take your mind off her. I promise you'll have a good night."

I laughed at her. "Really? Don't you think that's a bit forward? I am no whore." I teased placing my hand on my chest, pretending to be hurt.

"What? No, sorry, I meant at the bar—I wasn't saying..." I laughed harder as she blushed.

"Relax Blondie, I'm kidding." I nudged her. "You're new to this I'm guessing." I smiled at her and she looked down at the bar. "Hey." I touched her chin gently so that she looked back up at me. She smiled. " You're doing fine. Do you want a drink?" She nodded silently.

We sat and talked casually about jobs and I told her about how I was avoiding Rachel and Kurt and she told me about her ex and how she liked New York. We had several drinks and sang along to the music played in the bar until finally she turned to question me.

"So what's the deal with you and your 'friend'?" She said, air quoting with her fingers. "Are you together or were you or what? You can tell me, you never know I might be able to help."

"It's complicated." I replied. "And the sarcasm wasn't appreciated." She looked at me waiting for me to continue. I exhaled deeply and proceeded. "We hooked up at a wedding and since then, well, I've heard nothing. Now she sends me this message out of the blue." I showed her the text. "I guess I'm just kind of worried about what's going to happen."

"Why? She said she's looking forward to seeing you. That's a good thing."

"No, you don't get it. I'm not exactly her type." I laughed. "And anyway, I don't want to get into that, she's my friend." I smiled. Annie nodded. "Eurghh. This is too much drama." I dropped my head down onto the bar and a thudding sound echoed slightly more than I expected. "Ouch, crap." I laughed rubbing my forehead.

"Shit Santana, you're bleeding." Annie pointed at my head snickering. "Sorry, I don't mean to laugh. Come on lets get you cleaned up." She grabbed my arm and dragged me into the bathroom. She was about half a foot taller than me and slightly more sober. I stumbled leaning over the sink and looked at my head in the mirror, squinting to see the tiny cut by my hairline.

"I wouldn't exactly call this an injury. I've had much worse." I laughed as I wiped the tiny trail of blood away with my finger.

"Better to be safe than sorry." She winked. "Jesus, it's midnight." She said looking at her phone.

"Well it seems like I've had a better night than I expected then." I grinned at her as I got my lipstick out of my bag.

"What, that's it? Too much liquor sweetie?" Annie laughed at me. "There were a few words I associated with you when we first met but lightweight wasn't one of them."

I winked at her. "You were right not to." I traced the outline of my lips with the dark red coloured lipstick and filled in the rest with one fluid motion.

"Suits you." Annie smiled as she sat on the edge of the row of sinks. "Wait you have some right there." She laughed as she leant in and wiped a tiny smudge from under my bottom lip. Her touch was soft and it sent a shiver down my spine.

"You know, we could always finish our little chat at my place. I have wine!" I said smiling up at her. My vision was slightly blurred at this point and I could hear myself slurring as I spoke. Part of me knew that this wasn't a good idea but I decided there was a sure fire way to get Quinn out of my head for the night and that was to bring Annie back to the apartment.

* * *

I woke up and my head was throbbing. I had a pale arm draped over my stomach and hair tickling my neck. Shit. I looked over at my clock to see that it was only 8am, way too early to be up after such a late night. The blonde next to me stirred as I tried to shimmy out from underneath her. I slipped on some shorts and a t-shirt and wandered out into the kitchen.

"And she's up." Kurt stated smiling between Rachel and me.

"Ok Lady Hummel, keep the voice down before my head explodes."

"Or before I wake up your friend?" He smirked. Crap. "Curtains aren't soundproof Santana."

"Tell that the Rachel and the human Ken doll." I winked at her. "Coffee anyone?" They both shook their heads.

Just as I began to pour a cup for myself I heard a noise behind me. I turned to see Annie standing by the table. "Good morning." I smiled at her.

"Morning." She responded, yawning. "Is that coffee?" She grinned.

"Want some?" I asked laughing at her failed attempt of subtlety.

"Yes please. My head's pounding."

"Mine too." I replied. "These are my flat mates Kurt and Rachel." I pointed over to them.

"I guessed." She replied. "Hi I'm Annie."

They both greeted her.

"Remember Quinn's coming tonight Santana." I nodded. "I know it's late notice but I was wondering if it was ok for her to stay in your room tonight? I'll tidy up if you like but I wanted Brody to meet her and it would be easier for him to stay over, obviously in my room." I felt my muscles tighten. So not only would it be awkward that we had to see each other but we'd have to share a bed. Fabulous. Annie looked to me and snickered. I slapped her shoulder and handed her the mug of coffee.

"Sure Rach. Whatever." I moaned.

"What's wrong? She's your friend." Kurt questioned.

"Yeah I'm just tired. It's fine."

"Are you good friends?" Annie looked at me with a joking smirk. Not cool. I shot her an evil glare and then relaxed to a smile. We both knew that last night wasn't serious but I had to give her credit, it was a fun night. As much as I loved them, it was nice to have a break from Grandma Berry and Kurt and just relax.

"So Annie, what do you do?" Rachel asked turning to the blonde sitting opposite her.

"I'm a choreographer." She replied smiling. "I haven't done anything major so far, just a couple of shows. Actually, I've recently been asked to help choreograph some routines for the winter showcase at the performing arts school, NYADA?" Rachel's face lit up.

"That's where Kurt and I go to school. It's amazing. So have you accepted the offer? It could be a great opportunity." I rolled my eyes. Good one Annie, now you've really started her off. The blonde looked over at me as if she'd read my mind.

"Not yet but I probably will. Speaking of work, I'd better go. I have a dance class at 11." She stood up and walked back into my bedroom to collect her things.

Kurt and Rachel gave me a devilish look and I felt myself blush. This is why I don't bring people back. Annie walked back into the room leant over and kissed me on the cheek.

"Thanks. I had a great night. We should hang out again at some point." She hesitated before adding, "And good luck for tonight."

"Thanks." I grinned getting up and making my way over to open the door for her.

"You'll be fine." She winked at me and walked out of the door and down the hall.

"Well." Kurt placed his hands on the table, drumming his fingers. "She seems nice."

"Yep." I replied retaking my place at the table and relaxing back into my chair, closing my eyes.

"That's all you have to say?" Rachel questioned looking concerned. I nodded. "Santana." Rachel said with more force in her voice.

"What do you want me to say Rach?" I said sitting up. "Do you want me tell you what I did last night? Do you want me to tell you that it didn't mean anything and that she's just a friend? What do you want?"

"I don't want you to get hurt." Rachel shouted. I felt my pulse quicken. She inhaled. " Look I'm sorry. You just put up with so much crap and pretend it doesn't get to you. We all saw how hurt you were at the wedding with Brittany and Sam but you're worth more than this." Tears began to build in my eyes. "You deserve to be happy, not someone's one night stand."

"Well fortunately for you it isn't your fucking problem." I said as I got up and stormed into my room. I could feel a lump in my throat. I jumped face down on my bed and sulked into my pillow. There was nothing worse than being patronized, especially by Berry. Why should she get a say in what I do or who I do it with?

Kurt appeared at the foot of the bed. "Are you ok?" he smiled. "You know she's just worried about you, don't you?"

"I know, I know. I'm just a bit stressed out. I'm just going to go back to sleep. I'm working later and I'm exhausted. I just need a rest. Tell her I'm sorry?" He nodded, gave me a reassuring smile and left.

Brilliant. So not only did I have to look forward to awkward conversation all night with Quinn, but now I had to apologize to Rachel for snapping at her. What a nightmare. Oh, and to top it all off, Berry and Kurt would undoubtedly tell Q about me and Annie, just to make the fact that the two of us slept together feel a little bit more insignificant.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Sorry this has been so long, I've been away a lot so hopefully now I can get the chapter's published more often. Thanks for reading and reviewing so far!**_

* * *

I stood behind the bar rubbing my eyes and yawning. I'd not managed to get any more sleep during the day. I kept thinking of possible conversations and awkward scenarios and running through them in my head again and again. This shit was seriously getting to me. What if Quinn and I can't even be friends? I'm a bitch; I don't get many opportunities for friendship, mostly because people are scared of me or whatever but that doesn't mean I want to be alone. Don't get me wrong I was worshipped throughout high school and since I can remember but I can count my true friends on one hand. Nobody cares about me, not really, but Quinn was one of the few who did. I sighed and scraped my hair back, tying it up and off my face as a guy leaned across the bar waving me over.

"What can I get you?" I asked, forcing a smile. The guy's bright floral shirt made my eyes burn, not only because it was disgusting but also because my eyes were weak due to lack of sleep. This night was going to be tragic and the outlandishly, stereotypically gay fashion was just pissing me off further for no reason.

"Can I get two beers and an Appletini please sweetie?"

"Sure." I turned and cracked open two bottles of beer on the counter top and grabbed a tall glass from under the bar. Being called sweetie just reminded me of Q, Eurgh. I passed him the drinks and he handed me the cash. "Thanks, have a good night." I turned to walk back towards the other end of the bar where I was originally standing when I saw them walk through the door.

I could hear Rachel blabbing her mouth instantly accompanied by Kurt's high-pitched giggling. Then, behind them walked the tall blonde, she looked amazing. As always Quinn stood out as impossibly beautiful compared to everyone around her. Her hair was peroxide blonde and shined even in the dimly lit bar. She was wearing a red skater dress that showed off her figure as she elegantly made her way through the bustling crowd towards a table with my two roommates. Rachel turned to look towards the bar and spotting me she waved excitedly and pointed to Quinn. _Don't worry Rachel. I definitely noticed her. _I raised my hand, greeting her and smiled towards Quinn who looked at me sweetly and waved, wiggling her fingers. I sighed and stepped forward again to start serving the now busy bar area. Such a damn flirt.

"Hey Santana." Kurt said from the other side of the bar.

"Lady lips." I smiled at him. He laughed.

"So you're feeling better now then?" He winked. I just shrugged. "The usual please." I poured him a Shirley Temple. "So when do you finish?"

I looked down at my watch, sticking my tongue out concentrating on the impossibly small numbers. "Half an hour and then I'll come over." I smiled. "Drinks are on you porcelain."

"Yeah, right." He laughed. "I'll see you in a minute." I smiled and waved overenthusiastically.

I was rushed off my feet at the bar and the half an hour passed almost too quickly. I tried to delay going over to the table for a short while by doing my makeup and fixing my hair in the bathroom. I hated joining in a conversation half way through, it felt like the little private jokes for the evening had already been decided and I always felt like I'd missed something. It's so much harder to pick on people when you don't know the gossip. I walked out into the bar and towards my friends at the table. _Come on Santana. You can do this. _

"Hey." I said quietly as I sat at the circular table between Kurt and Berry. I looked up and caught Quinn's gaze directly in front of me.

"Santana, long time no see." Q said sweetly.

"Err—Yeah, I guess." _Brilliant conversation. Pull yourself together Lopez. _"So, how's Yale?" I smiled. I could feel my temperature rising and my pulse quickening. What's happened to my charming humor, or cool, or ability to even have a conversation?

"Yeah it's good thanks. It's erm—nice." Wow. Q seemed to be having the same problem as me. Cute.

"Quinn was just saying that she has a meeting tomorrow morning." Rachel said, sensing the lack of conversation.

"Oh yeah?" I looked at her.

"Yeah a law firm wants to meet with me. I don't really know why but even if they just get my name on record that's a good thing. You never know." I nodded. "But enough with the boring chit chat, Lopez, come with me, we're getting the shots in." Ok, that was a bit surprising. The blonde grabbed my hand and started dragging me towards the bar.

"So what's new Quinnie?" I asked smirking, still slightly shocked by her urgency. I felt more comfortable now that she'd made the effort and the feeling would only increase with more alcohol.

"Quite a lot actually. But now's not the time for sharing it." She winked. Way to avoid my question. "How're you finding it here?" She asked as we stood waiting at the bar.

"It's good. Definitely more my speed." I grinned. "I don't really know what I'm going to do yet but I'll figure it out."

"Well it sounds like you already know what you're doing, Rach told me about this girl you're seeing." She smiled sweetly.

"What?" I made a mental note to kill Rachel when Quinn left. "Annie? No it's not like that, she's just a friend."

"Yeah well you said that about me and Brit too." The blonde winked. She looked slightly regretful about bringing up the subject. I could feel myself blushing. Shit, shit, shit. What the hell do you reply to that?

"Whatever Fabray, you wanted it." Crap. Do you know what never stops awkward, flirty conversation? Flirting, and that's exactly what I was doing. Luckily the blonde just laughed.

She turned towards the guy who'd taken over my shift. "Can we get 6 shots of tequila please?" She smiled sweetly at him and he was noticeably nervous talking to her. _Damn, Fabray is on form, but at least the attention's been diverted._

"Sure you can handle that Q?" I joked nudging her. "Remember what happened last time?"

"Don't make me slap you Santana." Quinn jokingly asserted, handing me one of the shots. We clinked glasses and threw our heads back, taking the shot. I could feel the liquid burning my throat and the buzz of the alcohol rushed to my head immediately. It turns out that alcohol is more effective when you're exhausted.

Quinn pulled a face and I couldn't help but laugh. "I forgot how disgusting tequila was."

"Don't worry Q, Auntie Tana will show you what real drinking is." I smiled at her and then gestured for us to walk back to our table.

* * *

Brody had joined our lovely little outing so I'd decided that, to avoid having to see his annoying plastic physique, I would take Quinn and Kurt to dance. By this point we'd had way too much to drink and Kurt was beginning to get annoyed with my lack of coordination.

"Santana are you ok?" Quinn asked wrapping her arm tighter around my waist. I nodded with confusion and looked up to her. "It's just that, I'm pretty sure you'd fall over if I let go." We both laughed. Kurt rolled his eyes and carried on dancing.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. Why? Had enough of dancing about?" I smiled.

"No, I need to go to the bathroom to redo my makeup. Come if you want?" The blonde asked holding my hand and walking towards the bathroom.

"Remember what kind of bar this is Q. Dragging a friend into the bathroom means something completely different here." I joked. I could see her pale skin begin to colour as she blushed. "Relax, kidding." I winked at her. She looked at me and smiled.

I was so relieved that there was no awkward tension between the two of us. It felt like it always had, we were friends and I hadn't realized how much I'd missed her until we were together again. She stood in the mirror applying powder and then lipstick. I was in awe. I caught myself admiring her perfect features, her big eyes and lips, her beautiful hair and figure and— She looked up into the mirror and caught me admiring her from behind.

"Subtle." She said, snickering. "Like what you see?"

"What? I wasn't—" I stammered I could feel my cheeks turning red and my heart rate increased. _Did it just get really hot in here? _ "I was just—" I exhaled, giving up. _She knows, game over_. Quinn turned around, leaning her back against the sink and smiling.

"What's up Santana?" She asked with a sarcastic smile plastered across her face. She crossed her arms across her chest and stood waiting for a response, looking me in the eyes. _Ok, she's definitely flirting. Two can play at this game. _I walked closer to her, standing about a foot away and copied her actions, facing her and looking up to her face.

"Nothing. What's up with you? Seem edgy, nervous even. " I grinned back and flicked my hair over my shoulder, batting my eyelids. It suddenly dawned on me that while in my head this seemed incredibly smooth, after about 20 shots it probably didn't look the same to her as I imagined it would.

"Hmm." The blonde replied holding my gaze. We stood there for a couple of minutes looking at each other in silence. She slipped her powder back into her purse and cracked a smile. "You're an idiot." She laughed. "Let's go and dance, we can finish this later." The blonde grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the bathroom and back onto the dance floor. I followed her, speechless at her calmness. _What does 'We can finish this later' even mean? _

She was dancing noticeably closer to me now and her hands occasionally grazed my hips and arms as we danced together. I tried not to think too much into it but my god, she looked amazing. As we danced I occasionally stumbled, making Kurt or Quinn catch me and steady me on my feet, Kurt would roll his eyes or tut at me while Quinn just laughed.

Rachel and Brody came to join us after a few minutes. Brody kept looking between Quinn and me in a way that made me want to hold him over an open flame until his smug expression melted off his face.

"I don't think slick dance moves agree with your restricted socket movements plastic man."

"Hilarious Santana. So what's your excuse?"

"Alcohol, and my moves are still slicker than yours." I stated as I stumbled.

"Santana are you ok?" Rachel asked grabbing my arm.

"Of course Rach. I'd be even better too if Ken here would stop standing on my feet."

"Santana that's so out of line."

"It's ok babe." Brody interjected. "She doesn't know what she's saying, she's just drunk and jealous."

"Jealous? Why would I be jealous of you?" I questioned, taking a step towards him.

"Because you're lonely Santana. You act all tough and go around sleeping with strangers but that doesn't solve the problem that you go from your crappy job to sitting at home alone. You're nothing, you've got nobody, and the sooner you realize that Rachel is too good for your friendship, the better."

_Ouch. Well, that really fucking hurt. As if I don't already know that, as if I'm not aware of how much of a fuck up I am. Oh, and he brought up Annie, what a cock! _My chest tightened and I felt sick. I could feel tears building in the corners of my eyes. I could hear the conversation echoing in my ears_. Why shouldn't Brody fight back? I would. I deserve this._

"Hold on, what?" Quinn shouted.

"Brody! Are you kidding me?" Rachel added. "Yes she teases you and me and all of the rest of us, but Santana is a good friend! She has my back and she always has done. "

"Don't worry Rach. I deserved it." I sighed. This wasn't worth Rachel ruining her relationship over; it wasn't worth arguing over at all. "I'm just going to go home. I'll see you all later."

"I'll come with you." Quinn called as I turned and began to make my way through the crowd.

"No, Stay and enjoy yourself."

"I've had a long day." She linked her arm in mine and leant in to whisper. "And besides, I can't see how the night would be any good without you." I looked up at her and smiled appreciatively. "Let's get a cab."

* * *

In the back of the car I leant my head against the window as I watched the lights of the buildings blur as we passed them.

"He's right you know Quinn. I am nothing." I sighed.

"That's so not true. The things you've done, the things you do, you're amazing."

"I'm not." I protested, turning and looking at her. The tears that I held in started streaming down my face as the raw, drunken emotions poured out. "What have I ever done that's any good? What difference have I ever made? I hurt everyone who ever loves me and push away my friends. I have a shit job in a big city. I am nobody here. "

"You're somebody to me. Santana, you've changed my life." Quinn stated holding my hand in both of hers. Her touch was warm and soft and made me feel safe.

"How? I was horrible to you. Everything you went through, everything I said and did. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Quinn."

"Don't apologize Santana." She said pulling my head closer to her to rest it on her shoulder. "In the best way possible, you've changed my life."

I could feel the tears running down my cheek and the red strap of Quinn's dress was stained with my make up. Quinn rested her chin on the top of my head and gently stroked the back of my head in an attempt to calm me.

"Why are you being so nice to me? I thought you hated me, I thought you didn't want to talk to me anymore after what happened. I fucked up Quinn. I just want my friend back."

"What are you talking about?" Quinn's fingers stopped massaging my head and moved down to my chin, pulling it upwards so I was looking into her eyes. She wiped a tear that was tickling my cheek with her thumb and kept her hand firmly in place caressing my face. "Sweetie, that's not why I didn't talk to you, I promise. I just didn't know what to do, it changed me, it changed what I wanted." Our faces were only inches apart, I could feel the warmth of her body; I could smell her perfume in the air between us. "I haven't been totally honest Santana. That night, for me, was amazing. It's all I've thought about and craved ever since. I'm just scared. I don't understand, this is so new to me, I'm confused and I didn't know how you'd react if I told you. That's why I didn't call, or text, or visit. I didn't want to scare you."

My body felt numb. I'd been praying to hear her say those words but now they'd arrived I just didn't know what to do with them.

"Q, I—I…" I couldn't express my feelings back, I was lost for words and confused by the tears and emotions and the desperate expression on Quinn's face. I felt lost in my thoughts and as the time passed with me speechless I could see the beautiful blonde in front of me start to blush, I could see tears in her eyes and a lump in her throat, I could see her breaking in front of me and I couldn't find a coherent sentence to stop it.

"I'm so sorry, I—I just thought that… I take it back, I'm sorry." Quinn desperately blurted out as a single tear fell down her cheek.

I stopped her. "Don't cry… and please don't take it back."

The blonde looked deeper into my eyes and down to my lips. I followed her action, diverting my attention to the red lips that were quickly approaching. Her lips were soft and gentle against my own, I felt dizzy with adrenaline and alcohol as her hand wandered from the side of my face to nestle in my hair.

I could feel myself swaying and my eyelids were heavy but nothing overpowered the tingling feeling of Quinn's lips on mine. I placed my hand on her leg as she increased the pressure of the kiss and she moved closer to me, leaning against my body. She was warm and smelt as she always had, like vanilla. I was lost in the moment and the collection of everything I'd wanted for months was all forming this unbelievable kiss that I never wanted to end, and then the cab driver coughed.

I felt Quinn's whole body tense as she realized what was happening, she pulled back looking at me with tears in her eyes and her hair askew. She looked between me and the driver then dove into her purse for the fare, grabbing my arm and dragging me out onto the street as she got out.

"Q… I… I get it, I know."

"No, you don't. Let's just get inside." And before I knew it I was lying in the silent dark in my bedroom, once again thinking of Quinn, but she wasn't next to me.


End file.
